Rust

Resolution Scaling

Examining how Rust scales across the three tested resolutions reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings but becomes increasingly CPU-sensitive as resolution drops. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra settings is dramatic: the Low preset produces 152 FPS while Ultra drops to 65 FPS, a difference of 87 frames. This spread narrows considerably at 1440p, where Low delivers 104 FPS and Ultra falls to 45 FPS, and tightens further at 4K, where Low achieves 62 FPS versus Ultra's 27 FPS.

The scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K at equivalent settings tells a clear story about the limiting component. At High settings, performance falls from 86 FPS at 1080p to 59 FPS at 1440p, then to 35 FPS at 4K. That represents a 49% drop from 1080p to 1440p and another 41% drop from 1440p to 4K. These are roughly proportional reductions that track closely with pixel count increases, indicating the GPU is the primary constraint at High settings across all resolutions. The RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth appear adequate for the workload, but the raw compute throughput of 9.062 TFLOPS becomes the bottleneck as resolution climbs.

At Low settings, the picture changes. The 1080p result of 152 FPS drops to 104 FPS at 1440p (a 32% reduction) and then to 62 FPS at 4K (a 40% reduction from 1440p). The smaller percentage drop at 1440p compared to High settings suggests that at Low settings with lower pixel counts, the CPU begins to play a more significant role. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245's 14 cores and 14 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost of 5.10 GHz, provide enough headroom that the GPU remains the main limiter even at 1080p Low, but the diminishing returns between 1440p and 4K hint that the CPU's single-thread performance, reflected in a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648, keeps the frame rate from scaling perfectly with resolution.

The Medium settings across resolutions show a consistent pattern: 102 FPS at 1080p, 70 FPS at 1440p, and 41 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop of 31% and the 1440p-to-4K drop of 41% indicate that Medium settings place enough load on the GPU to make it the dominant constraint, but the smaller drop at 1440p again suggests some CPU involvement at the lower resolution. The min/max FPS data available only for Medium settings shows a tighter range at 1080p (87-117 FPS) compared to 1440p (60-81 FPS) and 4K (35-48 FPS), which is consistent with higher resolutions producing more consistent frame delivery as the GPU becomes the sole bottleneck.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor built on TSMC's 3 nm process with an Arrow Lake-S architecture. Its 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s dual-channel DDR5 memory bandwidth provide the memory subsystem necessary for a game like Rust, which is known for its large, persistent world and complex entity interactions. The CPU's performance profile, as measured by synthetic benchmarks, places it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48995.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database provides context for its gaming capabilities. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G scores 49196, just 0.4% higher; the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 scores 49228, 0.5% higher; the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H scores 48698, 0.6% lower; and the Intel Core i5-14600K scores 48618, 0.8% lower. This tight cluster means the Ultra 5 245 sits in a performance band where small differences in workload characteristics can flip rankings. For Rust specifically, the data shows that this CPU keeps pace with these rivals, as evidenced by the measured frame rates.

The multi-threaded capabilities of the Ultra 5 245 are substantial: Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and PassMark multi-thread score of 38706. However, Rust's frame rate behavior across settings and resolutions suggests that single-thread performance matters more. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648 and PassMark single-thread score of 4394 indicate strong per-core performance, which is critical for a game that must process server-side simulation logic, entity updates, and player interactions in a single main thread for many operations.

At 1080p Low settings, the 152 FPS result is likely near the ceiling of what this CPU can feed to the GPU. The fact that dropping from 1080p Low to 1440p Low only reduces performance by 32% rather than the 56% that pixel count alone would suggest indicates that at Low settings, the CPU is partially limiting performance at 1080p. This is typical of survival games where draw calls and world-state updates are CPU-intensive. The Ultra 5 245's 14 threads and boost clock of 5.10 GHz provide enough headroom to maintain high frame rates, but the data suggests that even this capable processor becomes a factor at lower resolutions with reduced GPU load.

The CPU's data compression score of 400942 in PassMark and integer math score of 91187 indicate strong general-purpose compute that benefits Rust's procedural world generation and item stacking logic. The floating-point score of 120548 and extended instructions score of 33304 round out a profile that handles the varied computational demands of a survival game well.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Rust with this combo for high frame rates?

A: The data shows 1080p provides the highest average frame rates across all settings, with 152 FPS at Low, 102 FPS at Medium, 86 FPS at High, and 65 FPS at Ultra. For a 144Hz display, 1080p Low or Medium settings are the only options that exceed 100 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20282, placing it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. It trails the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M by 1%, the GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile by 1.2%, the Intel Arc B570 by 1.3%, and the Intel Arc A750 by 1.5%. All four rivals are within 1.5% of the 2070 SUPER, indicating near-identical overall performance.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 a high-end processor?

A: The Ultra 5 245 ranks in the 90th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 48995. Its nearest rivals are within 0.8% in either direction, including the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (0.5% higher) and Intel Core i5-14600K (0.8% lower). This places it in the upper tier of desktop processors.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo produces an average of 70 FPS, with a minimum of 60 FPS and maximum of 81 FPS. This is the only 1440p setting with min/max data available, and the 60 FPS minimum suggests reasonably consistent frame delivery.

Q: How much performance is lost when going from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 86 FPS at 1080p to 59 FPS at 1440p, then to 35 FPS at 4K. This represents a 59% reduction from 1080p to 4K, with the largest single drop occurring between 1440p and 4K (41%).

Q: Does this CPU bottleneck the GPU in Rust?

A: At 1080p Low, the 152 FPS result suggests the CPU is approaching its limit, as the drop to 104 FPS at 1440p Low (32% reduction) is less than the pixel count increase would predict. At higher settings and resolutions, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, with performance scaling proportionally with resolution changes.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1650 out of 2953 tested combos in Rust, placing it in the 44th percentile of all tested systems. This ranking reflects the balance between a top-tier CPU and a mid-range GPU from the previous generation. The CPU's 90th percentile standing and the GPU's 65th percentile standing combine to produce a system that is roughly mid-pack for this specific game.

The ranking suggests that many other combinations of newer or higher-end GPUs outperform this pairing in Rust, despite the strong CPU. This is consistent with the resolution scaling analysis, which shows the GPU becoming the primary constraint at higher settings and resolutions. A system with a less powerful CPU but a stronger GPU would likely rank higher in Rust, as the game appears to favor GPU throughput in most configurations tested.

However, the 1080p Low result of 152 FPS shows that this combo can deliver high refresh rates when the GPU load is minimized, which is a scenario where the CPU's strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648) comes to the forefront. The ranking of 1650 out of 2953 means roughly 56% of tested systems perform better, but the data also shows that this combo outperforms the bottom 44% of systems, making it a viable mid-range option.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates span from 152 FPS at Low settings to 65 FPS at Ultra. The Medium setting produces 102 FPS with a minimum of 87 and maximum of 117. High settings deliver 86 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 57% reduction in performance, with each step up in quality costing significant frame rate: Low to Medium is a 33% drop, Medium to High is a 16% drop, and High to Ultra is a 24% drop.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 104 FPS at Low, 70 FPS at Medium (minimum 60, maximum 81), 59 FPS at High, and 45 FPS at Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 33%, Medium to High is 16%, and High to Ultra is 24% — identical percentage reductions to 1080p, indicating consistent scaling behavior across settings regardless of resolution.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 62 FPS at Low, 41 FPS at Medium (minimum 35, maximum 48), 35 FPS at High, and 27 FPS at Ultra. The percentage drops from setting to setting remain consistent: Low to Medium is 34%, Medium to High is 15%, and High to Ultra is 23%. The consistency of these percentage drops across all three resolutions indicates that the GPU's architecture handles each setting increment uniformly, regardless of the absolute resolution.

The Medium settings are the only ones with complete min/max data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 87 to 117 FPS (30 FPS spread); at 1440p, the range is 60 to 81 FPS (21 FPS spread); at 4K, the range is 35 to 48 FPS (13 FPS spread). This narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that frame time consistency improves as the GPU becomes more fully utilized, with less variance in rendering workloads.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 144 Hz at 1080p, the Low setting is the only option that achieves the target, with 152 FPS. The Medium setting at 102 FPS is also highly playable and provides a substantial visual upgrade over Low for only a 33% frame rate cost. Given that the minimum at Medium is 87 FPS, this setting maintains playable frame rates even during demanding scenes.

At 1440p, Medium settings at 70 FPS provide the best balance of visual quality and smoothness. The 60 FPS minimum ensures that the frame rate rarely drops below the threshold for smooth gameplay, and the 81 FPS maximum shows headroom for less demanding scenes. High settings at 59 FPS are also viable for players who prefer visual fidelity, but the sub-60 FPS average means occasional drops below playable levels.

For 4K, the Low setting at 62 FPS is the only configuration that maintains an average above 60 FPS. Medium at 41 FPS is playable for less demanding scenarios but will result in noticeable stuttering during intense action. Ultra at 27 FPS is not recommended for any gameplay scenario, as the frame rate falls well below the threshold for responsive control.

The Ultra settings at any resolution produce frame rates that are 57% lower than Low at the same resolution, and the data suggests this preset is intended for screenshot-style viewing rather than gameplay. The High preset offers a more moderate visual upgrade with a 43% penalty compared to Low, making it a middle ground for players who prioritize graphics over frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the 12 nm Turing architecture with the TU104 chip, featuring 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory operates at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock of 1770 MHz and base clock of 1605 MHz deliver 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, with 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores for ray tracing and AI workloads.

The GPU's benchmark performance places it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs with an average score of 20282. Its nearest rivals are all within 1.5%: the Quadro M4000M is 1% higher, the RTX 3070 Mobile is 1.2% higher, the Intel Arc B570 is 1.3% higher, and the Arc A750 is 1.5% higher. This clustering indicates that the 2070 SUPER sits in a well-populated performance tier where architectural differences and driver optimizations can shift rankings.

In Rust, the GPU's role is clearly demonstrated by the resolution scaling data. The near-linear relationship between pixel count and frame rate at High and Ultra settings shows that the GPU is the primary constraint at these quality levels. At 4K Ultra, the 27 FPS result represents the GPU's absolute limit in this game, while the 152 FPS at 1080p Low shows what the GPU can achieve when the CPU is feeding it minimal work.

The GPU's 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for Rust at all tested settings, as evidenced by the consistent performance scaling without any anomalous drops that would indicate memory swapping. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth provides ample data throughput for the game's texture streaming and world rendering requirements. The pixel rate of 113.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s are the specifications that most directly influence the resolution scaling behavior observed in the measured data.

The RTX 2070 SUPER's performance at 4K, where even Low settings only produce 62 FPS, confirms that this GPU is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Rust. The 65th percentile GPU ranking, combined with the 44th percentile combo ranking in this game, indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor for achieving higher frame rates at higher resolutions with this pairing.